Bringing the Kok effect to light: A review on the integration of daytime respiration and net ecosystem exchange

Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) represents the difference between carbon assimilated through photosynthesis, or gross primary productivity (GPP), and carbon released via ecosystem respiration (ER). NEE, measured via eddy covariance and chamber techniques, must be partitioned into these fluxes to accurately describe and underst and the carbon dynamics of an ecosystem. GPP and daytime ER may be significantly overestimated if the light inhibition of foliar mitochondrial respiration, or "Kok effect," is not accurately estimated and further integrated into ecosystem measurements. The light inhibition of respiration, a composite effect of multiple cellular pathways, is reported to cause between 25-100% inhibition of foliar mitochondrial respiration, and for this reason needs to be considered when estimating larger carbon fluxes. Partitioning of respiration between autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration, and applying these scaled respiratory fluxes to the ecosystem-level proves to be difficult, and the integration of light inhibition into single and continuous measures of ecosystem respiration will require new interpretations and analysis of carbon exchange in terrestrial ecosystems

A Taxonomy for Organizing the Core Concepts According to Their Underlying Principles

This article organizes and classifies the 18 core concepts. There are nine overarching principles into which the concepts fit: life, liberty, equality, dignity, family as foundation, community, capacity, individualization, and accountability. These in turn reflect three approaches to policy: the Constitutional approach, consisting of the principles of life, liberty, and equality; the Ethical approach, consisting of the principles of dignity, family as foundation, and community; and the administrative approach, consisting of the principles of capacity, individualization, and accountability. There is also a set of Professional principles, which the article illustrates with examples from the field of medicine/health care. Finally, the article demonstrates how the organization and classification of the core concepts create a wholistic, unified approach to policy

IDEA Requirements for Use of PBS: Guidelines for Responsible Agencies

Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBS) is the federal law's preferred strategy for dealing with challenging behaviors of students with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires PBS to be considered in all cases of students whose behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, reflecting IDEA's preference for use of state-of-the-art technology in special education. This article explains the legal ramifications of these requirements for responsible agencies, including schools, school boards, other local educational agencies, and state educational agencies

Knowledge-to-Action Guides: Preparing Families to Be Partners in Making Educational Decisions

Posted in application of the KU Faculty's Open Access policy

Differential physiological responses to environmental change promote woody shrub expansion

Direct and indirect effects of warming are increasingly modifying the carbon-rich vegetation and soils of the Arctic tundra, with important implications for the terrestrial carbon cycle. Understanding the biological and environmental influences on the pr

Differential physiological responses to environmental change promote woody shrub expansion

© The Author(s), 2013. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Evolution 3 (2013): 1149–1162, doi:10.1002/ece3.525.Direct and indirect effects of warming are increasingly modifying the carbon-rich vegetation and soils of the Arctic tundra, with important implications for the terrestrial carbon cycle. Understanding the biological and environmental influences on the processes that regulate foliar carbon cycling in tundra species is essential for predicting the future terrestrial carbon balance in this region. To determine the effect of climate change impacts on gas exchange in tundra, we quantified foliar photosynthesis (Anet), respiration in the dark and light (RD and RL, determined using the Kok method), photorespiration (PR), carbon gain efficiency (CGE, the ratio of photosynthetic CO2 uptake to total CO2 exchange of photosynthesis, PR, and respiration), and leaf traits of three dominant species – Betula nana, a woody shrub; Eriophorum vaginatum, a graminoid; and Rubus chamaemorus, a forb – grown under long-term warming and fertilization treatments since 1989 at Toolik Lake, Alaska. Under warming, B. nana exhibited the highest rates of Anet and strongest light inhibition of respiration, increasing CGE nearly 50% compared with leaves grown in ambient conditions, which corresponded to a 52% increase in relative abundance. Gas exchange did not shift under fertilization in B. nana despite increases in leaf N and P and near-complete dominance at the community scale, suggesting a morphological rather than physiological response. Rubus chamaemorus, exhibited minimal shifts in foliar gas exchange, and responded similarly to B. nana under treatment conditions. By contrast, E. vaginatum, did not significantly alter its gas exchange physiology under treatments and exhibited dramatic decreases in relative cover (warming: −19.7%; fertilization: −79.7%; warming with fertilization: −91.1%). Our findings suggest a foliar physiological advantage in the woody shrub B. nana that is further mediated by warming and increased soil nutrient availability, which may facilitate shrub expansion and in turn alter the terrestrial carbon cycle in future tundra environments.This study was supported by the National Science Foundation #0732664; Australian Research Council DP0986823; and Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand

The Effects of Nitrogen Fertilisation on Plant Species Richness in European Permanent Grasslands: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Nitrogen fertilisation is a common form of agricultural intensification, aimed at increasing biomass, which can affect plant species diversity and ecosystem functioning. Using a systematic review and meta-analysis of nitrogen fertilisation studies in European permanent grasslands, we asked: (i) what relationship form exists between nitrogen application rate and change in plant diversity, compared to zero fertilisation controls; and (ii) how grassland, management and study characteristics affect this relationship. Meta-analysis of 34 control-treatment effects from 14 studies conducted across nine European countries revealed a negative linear relationship between nitrogen fertilisation rate and change in plant species richness, equivalent to approximately 1.5 species/m(2) lost for every 100 Kg ha(-1) yr(-1) of nitrogen added. Fertilisation induced reductions in plant species richness were greater when defoliation rates were lower. We found some evidence that grasslands with a higher baseline plant diversity lost more species when fertilised compared to more species poor grasslands, although uncertainty was high. Due to the diverse grassland types included in the analysis, the variability in fertilisation-driven changes in plant diversity was high. We identified several remaining limitations to our understanding, including uncertainty about non-linear effects, which could aid efforts to optimise the trade-off of plant diversity and increasing grassland yields

Bringing the Kok effect to light: A review on the integration of daytime respiration and net ecosystem exchange

Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) represents the difference between carbon assimilated through photosynthesis, or gross primary productivity (GPP), and carbon released via ecosystem respiration (ER). NEE, measured via eddy covariance and chamber techniques, must be partitioned into these fluxes to accurately describe and understand the carbon dynamics of an ecosystem. GPP and daytime ER may be significantly overestimated if the light inhibition of foliar mitochondrial respiration, or “Kok effect,” is not accurately estimated and further integrated into ecosystem measurements. The light inhibition of respiration, a composite effect of multiple cellular pathways, is reported to cause between 25‐100% inhibition of foliar mitochondrial respiration, and for this reason needs to be considered when estimating larger carbon fluxes. Partitioning of respiration between autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration, and applying these scaled respiratory fluxes to the ecosystem‐level proves to be difficult, and the integration of light inhibition into single and continuous measures of ecosystem respiration will require new interpretations and analysis of carbon exchange in terrestrial ecosystems